Chapter 267: Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster 『 Part Eight 』
「 Stelle gazed out toward the distant, desolate expanse, the gale whipping grit and gravel against her battered armor. Beneath her feet, a Leviathan towered like a mountain range, its iridescent scales reflecting a cold, metallic sheen under the dim starlight.
"What am I…" Stelle looked up at the sky, which was blotted out by an oppressive, overwhelming swarm of insects.
"You are now a Pathstrider walking the Path of 『 Voracity 』, a Beastmaster," Herta said unhurriedly. "The 『 Voracity 』, possessed of an endless appetite, yet vanished entirely during the Swarm Disaster. No one knows if it lives or died, nor why it disappeared. I thought… perhaps we might glimpse some clues through the eyes of its followers."
No sooner had the words fallen than Stelle saw the colossal beast beneath her slowly raise its head.
Its mouth opened with agonizing slowness, yet the motion seemed to freeze time for the entire swarm. That massive maw was like a breach torn in the fabric of the universe, revealing swirling nebulae and black holes within.
The sea of insects began to distort.
It was as if an invisible, colossal hand were churning the unseen ether, forming a massive vortex, and the terminus of that vortex was the Leviathan's throat. Like seawater rushing in reverse, the sky-filling ocean of insects was "inhaled" into the Leviathan's mouth. In the span of just a few breaths, the swarm that had previously obscured the heavens was utterly obliterated.
However, the swarm expanded again with visible speed, yet this time, the Leviathan clamped its mouth shut, refusing to open it again.
A Leviathan blessed by the 『 Voracity 』 should never exhibit such behavior.
Stelle moved to the base of the Leviathan. The behemoth slowly lowered its head, its golden vertical pupils reflecting her diminutive figure. In that instant, Stelle felt as though, for the first time, she saw an unfamiliar emotion within those eyes that forever burned with the fires of hunger—satiety.
Immediately after, the Leviathan let out a muffled, comfortable belch.
"It has been satisfied." Herta's tone sounded utterly incredulous. "Could the 『 Voracity 』, with its endless appetite, also be satisfied? Although prior to the outbreak of the Swarm Disaster, it had never feasted so gluttonously… but to use two-thirds of the cosmos to satisfy the appetite of a Star God… that is truly madness."
As Herta spoke, Stelle suddenly felt her limbs being hoisted up by invisible, gossamer-thin threads, as if someone were manipulating her like a marionette.
The screeching of the swarm, the low growl of the Leviathan, the wailing of the madwoman… the mania and unease embedded within the memory fell silent in an instant. It was as if someone had plucked the strings of the universe, erasing all noise, leaving only a clear chord resonating in the void.
This was an absolute, irrefutable… Order.
"Wow—" Herta's eyes lit up as if she had discovered a diamond. "It's Ena the 『 Order 』. It has finally appeared. Do you remember? The sensation of being watched back on the Planet of Festivities? That gaze originated from Them."
"In the era before Their fall, Their radiance was as holy as gemstones! What did I tell you? Without Nanook in this moment, the ancient Path of Order suppresses the multitude of calamities—" 」
「 ..... 」
〜Zenless Zone Zero World〜
"I now have reason to believe that the existence of the 『 Order 』 is more like a rock-bottom self-preservation mechanism."
Tsukishiro Yanagi adjusted her glasses.
"When the destruction within the universe crosses a certain red line and impacts the Path of 『 Order 』, this ancient and powerful Star God will intervene."
"So next… we get to see a… War of the Star Gods?"
Asaba Harumasa sat bolt upright in his seat with a whoosh.
"Most likely, yes. But if we follow Herta's theory that the 『 Voracity 』 disappeared during the Swarm Disaster, then the only Star Gods currently on stage are the 『 Order 』 and the 『 Propagation 』. Both of these Star Gods are confirmed to have fallen… Could it be a case of mutual destruction?"
Yanagi believed that even if Star Gods were unreachable existences of a higher dimension to them, absolute disparities in power must still exist between Star Gods.
The closer one is to the concept of the "Primordial," the more ancient the Star God, the stronger their power might be—such as Ena, Terminus, Qlipoth… and Oroboros the 『 Voracity 』. She found it hard to imagine that a confrontation between the 『 Order 』 and the 『 Propagation 』 would lead to the fall of Order; there must have been a third-party Star God intervening, interfering with the outcome of this divine war.
Preservation builds walls, Voracity vanishes, intelligence on Finality is too scarce to know. Yanagi thought for a moment and felt that among the few who could influence the outcome of the great war, only Elation remained.
As an ancient Star God, Aha, the 『 Elation 』 possessed equally formidable power. However, Aha, who walked this Path, viewed all sentient life in the universe as a game, and all things merely as means to amuse Itself. Would such an unreliable-sounding Star God truly personally descend to interfere in this divine war?
Yanagi remained skeptical.
"Yanagi, I think… we can't use human logic and thoughts to fathom the considerations of a Star God. That's a very impractical endeavor."
Harumasa suddenly spoke up.
"Humans cannot stand on a higher dimension and view the full picture like a Star God; our thinking is often limited."
"So, the most important thing right now… is for you, Vice-Chief, to sit properly in your chair and enjoy this divine war with us. Star God versus Star God—you might not see a spectacle this grand in several lifetimes."
—
「 "Let me deduce Their voice. Okay, here it comes!" Herta let out a cry of anticipation—to hear the voice of the 『 Order 』 here was truly an unexpected delight.
Like the inscription of some mystic rune, countless voices converged into a stream, flowing into Stelle's mind without explanation—
"Those who disturb the world shall not remain; the greedy shall not live on in ignominy. The cunning and mutable chaos is but the dust and waste of the universe."
Order is absolutely impartial, just, and beautiful. The multiple syllables were as majestic as an army, concealing within them laws that could not be ignored.
And the extra syllables within Its voice were the empires, city-states, and civilizations that rose and were annihilated in sequence under Its control, according to a determined era—the insignificant sighs left behind by trillions of "corrections." 」
「 ..... 」